How do I find out more about ReTI?
You are very welcome to email the group lead Ben Lindley (lindley2@wisc.edu) to find out more! You are also strongly encouraged to reach out to our existing members and grad students, including:
Ryan Dailey (rdailey@wisc.edu), PhD Candidate
Sam Garcia (sgarcia9@wisc.edu), PhD Student
Ethan Fowler (epfowler@wisc.edu), PhD Student
Hitarth Shah (hrshah3@wisc.edu), PhD Student
Matthew Nyberg (mnyberg@wisc.edu), PhD Candidate
Why perform graduate research in nuclear engineering?
Our research in nuclear engineering is centered in a desire to avert catastrophic climate change and secure energy independence for the United States and other countries. Nuclear engineering is a fun, tight-knit, and highly interdisciplinary field. There are an abundance of projects to work on that span from highly technical (reactor core multi-physics), to non-technical (how do we better communicate nuclear technology to the public), and even political! Nuclear engineering has a small (relative to other disciplines) community, which makes it quite possible and probable to connect with a variety of wonderful folks within the field. While the community of nuclear engineers is small, we work with a wide variety of other disciplines to complete projects in a satisfactory manner. It is not uncommon within a nuclear project to work with mechanical engineers, economists, and geologists! UW-Madison has a vibrant energy policy community which enables engagement with a variety of engineering and non-engineering disciplines!
Do I need to have a background in nuclear engineering to be a nuclear engineering graduate student?
No! Our group contains a range of nuclear engineers, engineers of other disciplines and physicists. While having a background in (nuclear) engineering can ease transitioning into nuclear engineering projects, the nuclear industry greatly benefits from bringing in folks from other disciplines. That’s how good ideas spread! We actively aim to hire from a range of backgrounds to improve our ability to solve complex, multidisciplinary nuclear engineering problems. We also value nontraditional CVs; as an example,multiple current group members have returned to education after a period of employment. If you can make a case for how you’d like to integrate your experiences or demonstrate your interests in nuclear energy, we’d like to hear from you! Our collective experience is much wider than any one individual and provides opportunities for exciting and impactful research that we could not reach with a single homogenous background.
Is ReTI a welcoming environment?
Our goal is to make ReTI an open, friendly, welcoming, safe and inclusive environment to perform research and grow as an engineer and scientist. We are proud of our positive group culture and strive to keep it that way. Our group is diverse in terms of culture, background and gender, although we recognize that we can do better. You can see our group Promoting Inclusivity and Equity in Research (PIER) plan here
What internship opportunities are available for nuclear engineering graduate students?
Many nuclear engineering graduate students, both domestic and international, will intern for national laboratories. It is important to keep in mind that these are not the only internship opportunities available, and some will also pursue internships in industry, public policy, and other areas in sustainability. Students are encouraged to seek internship opportunities that reflect their career goals and personal interests.
How does a nuclear engineering graduate student get funded for their schooling?
PhD offers typically come with a 5-year funding guarantee. Students are funded either through grants via Ben, or individually through fellowships or scholarships. For MS students, research funding is sometimes available, but many students find TA positions or self-fund.
Scholarship and fellowship funding opportunities let students define the scope and depth of their work. Funding through a grant will usually have a project already determined for the student to follow. In this way, scholarships and fellowships provide more flexibility for the student.
What scholarship and fellowship opportunities are available for MS or PhD students?
For PhD students, fellowship and scholarship opportunities are more abundant and are typically geared towards specific types of work and usually ask for some deliverable. Popular ones pursued by students in the Engineering Physics Department are: National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Fellowship, the Idaho National Laboratory Graduate Fellowship Program, and the University Nuclear Leadership Program. There are also many other fellowships available for sustainability and clean energy technology research, which nuclear will usually fall under!
For MS students, some scholarship and fellowship opportunities are available although they will typically require some commitment for working under some entity for a certain amount of time. Some examples of potential master’s fellowship funding that do not include this work stipulation include the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and the University Nuclear Leadership Program! Some other examples of potential fellowships to fund master’s programs are provided here: https://www.profellow.com/fellowships/fellowships-to-fully-fund-a-masters-degree/
Lastly, funding opportunities for international students are often limited, especially for those in the nuclear sphere. International students are encouraged to reach out for additional help for fellowship opportunities.